It's a Bomb! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Objective
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1a. Asking for Information
  • 1b. Cutting a Cable
  • 2. Advancing the Countdown
• Consultant Cards
• End of the Game

Components

42 tiles, divided into:

• 15 colored Cables (in 5 colors)
• 16 grey Cables
• 4 Auxiliary Detonators
• 1 Receiver
• 5 Explosives
• 1 Battery

Note: the orientation of the Cable tiles is merely aesthetic.

44 tokens, divided into:

• 10 Explosives
• 2 Batteries
• 2 Receivers
• 30 colored Cables in 5 colors, bent differently for each color

14 Countdown cards, divided into:

• 1 Explosion
• 1 Call
• 9 Timer (with different values)
• 3 Disturbed Signal

Other components:

• 10 Consultant cards (example card, Advanced A.I.: "During Setup, use 2 less grey Cable tiles than indicated in the scenario. Therefore, there will be 2 empty spaces in the grid (you choose where).")
• This rulebook
• The Scenario Handbook
• 1 #wesurvivedthebomb certificate
• 1 Crisis Unit screen
• 3 Extra tokens: these tokens are never used in the base game, but they may be used in future extra scenarios (see Scenarios).

Game Objective

Players will have to find clues and cut the correct Cables to prevent the bomb from exploding and win the game. Treasure the precious information fed by the player representing the Crisis Unit and use the special abilities of the Crisis Unit's Consultants.

Setup

1. Choose a scenario to play. Take the tiles and Consultant cards shown in the chosen scenario's setup (see Scenarios).
2. Choose a player to play the role of the Crisis Unit. That player puts the screen in front of themselves with all tiles behind it and places the selected Consultant cards beside the screen, facing them.
3. The other players are the expendable employees that are stuck with the bomb. Flip down the tiles and shuffle them without looking. Form a grid of face-down tiles following the scenario's instructions.
4. Prepare the Countdown deck by putting the Explosion card on the bottom and the Timer cards in ascending order from 00:10 to the card with the value indicated by the scenario at "Available time" (each card represents a time lapse of 10 seconds on the timer). Some scenarios have special setup rules (see Scenarios).

Tip: it's better if no one else is sitting at the same side of the table as the Crisis Unit. In any case, players should be careful not to peek while the Crisis Unit is checking the tiles.

Gameplay

Each round represents 10 seconds in the game world and it's made up of the following phases:

1. Ask for Information or Cut a Cable.
2. Advance the Countdown.

1a. Asking for Information

The expendable employees can Ask the Crisis Unit for Information about a specific horizontal or vertical row of tiles. The Crisis Unit looks at those tiles, taking care not to show them to the other players. Then the Crisis Unit places a shuffled pile of tokens next to the examined row, corresponding to the colored Cables and/or special elements seen.

Grey Cables represent bait Cables and aren't indicated with any token.

IMPORTANT: if no special ability was activated, all tokens must be placed in a random order next to the row. The Crisis Unit puts aside the tokens corresponding to the elements observed while looking at the tiles. Hiding behind the screen, the Crisis Unit verifies again that those tokens are the correct ones, then shuffles them inside a closed fist before showing them.

Example 1: The expendable employees Ask for Information about a row of tiles. The Crisis Unit looks at the tiles in secret and peeks at their hidden side. Then the Crisis Unit places 2 yellow Cable tokens, 1 red Cable token and 1 Exploding token behind the screen. After verifying everything again, the Crisis Unit takes the 4 tokens in one hand, shuffles them while keeping them secret and finally places them next to the inspected row in a random order.

1b. Cutting a Cable

The expendable employees can decide to Cut a Cable, flipping up one of the tiles on the grid.

• If the revealed tile is an Explosive, the bomb explodes and the players lose the game.
• If it's a grey Cable or a Cable of a color that has already been cut, nothing happens.
• If it's a Cable of a color that hasn't already been cut, skip the Advance the Countdown phase and start another round.

Example 2: The players declare they want to Cut a Cable on a row and reveal the chosen tile. If the flipped tile is:

• A grey Cable or a Cable of a color that has already been cut: nothing happens.
• An Explosive: the bomb explodes and the players lose the game.
• A Cable of a color that hasn't already been cut: players skip the Advance the Countdown phase and find themselves one step closer to victory!

2. Advancing the Countdown

Discard the first card of the Countdown deck. If this way you reveal an Explosion card, the bomb explodes and the players lose the game. Otherwise, start a new round.

Consultant Cards

Depending on the chosen scenario, the Crisis Unit could have access to a number of Consultant cards, each with a different special ability. The choice of when to use them rests solely with the Crisis Unit. Each card specifies the moment of the round in which it has effect. Consultant cards must be discarded and returned to the box after activation.

Using a special ability at the right time is essential to win!

End of the Game

If the Explosion card is revealed from the Countdown deck or an Explosive tile is flipped, the bomb detonates and the players lose the game. If the players manage to cut at least one Cable of each color, the bomb is successfully defused and they win the game. To determine your skill level, you can calculate a team score by using the following table.

• +3 points for each Timer card still in the Countdown deck.
• +2 points for each Consultant you haven't used.
• +1 point if you completed a standard scenario (1-5).
• +2 points if you completed an advanced scenario (6-10).
• +3 points if you completed a special scenario (11-12).
• -1 point for each player at the table.